The Pinocchio Curse
by Randomly Randomly
Summary: Chapt 4~(Drama)RuHana.Rukawa had long fallen for Sakuragi but he always does the opposite,get what I mean?But thanx to a certain curse,Rukawa won’t be able to tell lies anymore.He can actually if he wants his nose to grow on longer.Rukawa torture babeh!
1. I Am So Dead

**__**

Disclaimer – Nope, na-da, kaput, nothing… SlamDunk doesn't belong to me, but the one and only Takehiko Inoue-Sensei or also known as Dr. T. SlamDunk and all the original characters are not mine! Yesh, it's true… *sobs sobs*

Author's Message – I can't say that my English is perfect of what so ever… Please forgive me if there's any misspelling, grammar error… This is my very first SlamDunk fic… Please go easy on me kudasai~ Sankyuu =^.^=

The Pinocchio Curse.

Chapter 01 – I Am So Dead…

"The what...?" A raven-haired man said.

"The curse of Pinocchio! Don't tell me you've never heard of it!" A spiky-headed man replied.

On a beautiful Saturday morning, around 10 a.m., Rukawa Kaede and Sendoh Akira were talking in a Chinese restaurant. You can say that both of their relationships are quite close now after Sakuragi Hanamichi got back from the hospital, fully recovered his back. You'll know why later on... Anyway, what I meant when I said 'close', I meant just like good friends, nothing more or less... (Don't hate me SenRu fans! __;;;) 

The people, especially the girls in the restaurant were drooling like mad puppies. Yup, drooling over the two tall good-looking men, but obviously Rukawa ignored the stares. What about Sendoh you said...? He just replied with one of his innocent smiles at the people, making them drool even more.

Rukawa took a sip of his ice herbal tea before raising his elbow on the table, resting his chin on his palm. "You're a High School student... Don't tell me you believe in that crap..." Rukawa insulted, his cold blue eyes just stared emotionless outside through a glass window.

"But it's true! That curse really exists! Every year, it will curse its victim. One of my classmates got cursed by it." Replied Sendoh after finished drinking his ice lemon tea. He then waved a hand at a waitress. The waitress in a red uniform snapped from her drooling activity, then quickly walked towards them. 

"M-may I help you, sir?" The girl blushed furiously.

"Yo, Rukawa. We're done right?" Sendoh asked, looking at his friend. 

Without turning his head from the window, Rukawa just gave a small nod. "Okay, here's the money." Sendoh took the girl's hand and placed the bill on it gently with a sweet smile on his lips. 

The girl's cheeks flushed in deep red. "A-arigato!" 

Shohoku's Ace and Ryonan's Ace went out of the bar, leaving the flushed waitress behind as the other waitresses just gave a glare of jealousy towards the girl. Did I mention that some of the men in the restaurant were drooling aswell...? Yare yare... 

Rukawa and Sendoh were walking side-by-side, heading towards a park. Most of the people that were passing by turned their heads to look at the two good-looking Romeo's'. Some were whispering to each other, saying how cute they were, some just drool, some even glare with envy. "Hey, you said yesterday that you'll help me out..." Rukawa broke the silence between the two of them.

"Here out my story first."

"About that Pinocchio crap? No thanx..."

"I WILL help you out. I promised, right? At least hear this story, will yah?"

"... Fine..."

Rukawa crossed his arms, while the other just held a winning grin. Sendoh looked around, searching for a bench in the park. He spotted one, and pointed his finger to the direction. "You can just tell that Fairy Tale of yours while walking…" Rukawa said emotionless like he always does, following the spiky-headed man from behind. 

"Sorry. No can do. The so-called Fairy Tale of mine is quite a long story. Anyway, my legs are getting tired. Can't you hear them begging for a bench to rest?" Sendoh turned his head to look at his friend walking behind him, still grinning. 

"We had our fifteen minutes rest a while ago…" 

"Not for me. That restaurant really need to change their chairs you know… Really uncomfortable…"

"Baka. You're the one who wanted to go there…"

"No more complaints~ Let's just sit!"

They arrived at the wooden bench. Sendoh dusted the fallen leaves off the bench before they both sat down. Rukawa crossed his legs. Owh yeaa~ He looked so terribly good just by doing that… Rukawa waited five minutes for Sendoh to begin his story, but the spiky-headed man just sat there quietly, closing his eyes as he enjoys the atmosphere. Rukawa began to feel annoyed. "Oi, baka. Spill it out." He said, emotionless again.

So Sendoh Akira began to explain about the curse of Pinocchio, saying that a year ago, one of his friends got cursed. Every time he tells a lie, his nose grew longer. The curse made him suffered for a whole month. The only way to make his nose shrink back to its normal size was to correct his lies. Though, Rukawa didn't give a damn about Sendoh's story. He nearly fell asleep, mind you… He just wanted to do Sendoh's favor so that he could get his favor in return. 

"Some of the people at the school didn't believe the story since their eyes weren't there to witness it, but it was a real story, Rukawa…" Sendoh explained. "You can ask Koshino if you don't believe me."

"… Why are you telling me this?" Rukawa asked before letting out a long yawn, which made Sendoh sighed in defeat.

"Well, that friend of mine got cursed on the first of May."

"So?"

"What date is it today?"

"First of May?"

"Exactly! Which means the curse will appear again, finding a new victim to torture."

"This is ridiculous…"

Sendoh sighed again. He knew that telling the raven-haired man about the Pinocchio curse will just waste his time, but it was worth it… right? Sendoh stood up, and made Rukawa turned to look at him. "And where do you think you're going?" Shohoku's Ace asked in wonder.

"Home. My Fairy Tale had long ended remember?" Sendoh said sarcastically as he held a smile at the rookie. Rukawa just gave his deadly glare at the spiky-headed man. "What?" Sendoh asked, but Rukawa gave no response, instead he just continues on glaring with his killer eyes. "Oh, I see. I didn't add the 'And he lived happily ever after', right?" He sarcastically said again. "Guess he did live happily later on since the curse only lasted for a month." He continued.

"You're not going anywhere until you help me out."

"Huh…?"

"… Sit."

Sendoh sat back on the bench, wondering what the raven-haired man was trying to say. Then he snapped. "Ohh yea! I promised that I'd help you out with that gorgeous athlete. What was his name again…? Sa… Sakura what?" Sendoh, again with his sarcastic joke made Rukawa's veins popping out, though there was a visible pink blush on the raven-haired man's cheeks. "Don't play your stupid jokes with me." 

Sendoh laughed in amusement, ignoring the glare Rukawa was giving him. "You sure have no sense of humor, that's for sure." Sendoh said after breaking his laughter. "Alright, so what's the problem between the two of you?" Sendoh asked. Rukawa turned his head forward, looking at the scenery before him. 

"… I can't seem to let out my true feelings…" 

"… Meaning?"

"I always did the opposite when… I am with him…"

"You mean like when a person asked you out, you said no, but deep down you wanted to hang out with that person?"

"Something like that…"

"You mean you STILL haven't yet told him about your true feelings…?"

"Baka… That's what I said earlier…"

Sendoh crossed his arms. "You know… I never knew that a guy like you couldn't handle a problem like this. I mean, before this you were so strong you know, but when Sakuragi got back from the hospital, you turned out like a helpless, lonely, desperate kitten." Instead of giving him his infamous glare, Rukawa just sat in silence. He knew that what Sendoh said was true. 

Alright, remember when I said that Rukawa and Sendoh became close because of Sakuragi? Well, when our innocent Sakuragi got back from the hospital two months ago, Sendoh noticed something about Rukawa that Rukawa himself haven't yet realized during that time. Rukawa had a crush on our cute red-haired boy, and thanx to Sendoh, Rukawa finally realizes that he had fallen deeply madly in love with Sakuragi. Since Sendoh was the only who knows, then he was also the one Rukawa could count on for help. And yesh, Sakuragi and Rukawa are like buddies now, but yea, they still like to throw insults, punches, and kicks…

"You really love him that much, hah?"

"… Don't be ridiculous…"

ZIIIIIIINGGGGGGG~~~!

"Ohh my god…!" Sendoh jumped on the bench, pointing a finger at Rukawa.

"… What…?" Rukawa formed a cute sweat on his head, giving a weird look at his friend.

"Your nose just grew… LONG!!!"

"… Hah…?"

"The Pinocchio Curse chose you! You've been cursed!"

"Don't be ridiculous…"

"It's true! I saw it! I said 'You really love him that much' and you said 'Don't be ridiculous' then your nose grew long!!! Which means, you really DO love Sakuragi that much!"

"Not that much! It's just a small crush, you idiot!" Rukawa lied again then ZIIIIIIINGGGGGGG~~~! His nose grew another centimeter long. Which means his nose already grew two centimeters long. 

"See that?! DID YOU SEE THAT?!" Sendoh was still pointing his vibrated finger at Rukawa's huge nose. The infamous Sendoh with his calmness almost loses his sanity…

"Shit…" Was Rukawa's only response.

"You're the cursed one… It chose you, Rukawa…"

----------

Rukawa got back home quickly. He rushed in to his room, and stood in front of his huge mirror, looking at his reflection. His cool blue eyes widened. He made three more steps forward to the mirror, standing close towards it. It was true, his nose did grew longer. His left hand reached it, rubbing it gently, afraid that he might hurt it or even break it. Then he remembered what Sendoh said, saying that the only way to recover it back was to correct the lies.

Rukawa took a deep breath, and said, "… I… I love Sakuragi v… very much…" Then BAMM! His nose shrinks one centimeter, and Rukawa witnessed it through his reflection. He said again, "I really DO love Sakuragi that much…" Nothing happened. Rukawa continued, "I love him that much… I've got a huge cr… crush on him…" His nose shrinks back to its normal size. Rukawa couldn't say a word. His reflection says it all. Sendoh was obviously right. The Pinocchio Curse truly exists…

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What the hell is going on…? It was suppose to be a stupid Fairy Tale… It can't be possible! But then… Why me? Why did you choose me?! What am I going to do?! I can't tell a lie for a whole month…? Tomorrow I've got school and basketball practice… That do'aho will be there… Can I do it…? So what! I mean all I have to do is just correct the lies, then things will turn out back to normal… But why am I beginning to feel unpleasant…? Shit… Shit!

I am so dead…

****

Tsuzuku~


	2. Secret Revealed

**__**

Disclaimer – Nope, na-da, kaput, nothing… SlamDunk doesn't belong to me, but the one and only Takehiko Inoue-Sensei or also known as Dr. T. SlamDunk and all the original characters are not mine! Yesh, it's true… *sobs sobs* I'm just a simple fan and because of that, I don't own a thing…

Author's Message – I can't say that my English is perfect of what so ever… Please forgive me if there's any misspelling, grammar error… Gomen for my bad English ///;;; Please go easy on me kudasai~ Sankyuu =^.^=

The Pinocchio Curse.

Chapter 02 – Secret Revealed…

As you all know, our favorite blue-eyed boy by the name Rukawa Kaede got cursed. Yup, the curse of Pinocchio chose Rukawa as its next victim. Every time he tells a lie, his nose will end up growing one centimeter long. Though there's a way to reverse it back just by correcting the lie… But the problem isn't about the nose… It's about the people witnessing the growing nose... What's the point of not telling the truth when that annoying nose will soon tell the others whether you are lying or not, right?

**********

Monday, 6:00 a.m. Rukawa was still lying on his bed with eyes half open, staring at the plain white ceiling. He didn't even get to sleep for a minute, he was too worried. He kept on thinking the consequences if he made his appearance at Shohoku High today. What if the school knows about his shocking secret? What if they bug him, forcing him to tell a lie so that they could watch his nose grow? That would really irritate Rukawa… 

Rukawa was thinking on skipping school today, but later his brain popped a suggestion. To avoid his nose from growing, all he has to do is just ignore the questions or the statements that would lead him to lie. Since he doesn't like to talk that much, things might turn out just fine. At least that was what Rukawa thought…

**********

Rukawa stood next to his trusty bicycle at the Shohoku High School gate. Yup, he decided to attend his classes anyway. He watched as the other students walked happily, talking to each other. Everything seems to be normal since no one was giving Rukawa any weird stare at his nose or anything. Rukawa sighed in relief. He took a deep breath before stepping forward, entering the school as he pushed his bicycle along.

"WAHHH! RUKAWA!" Shohoku's Ace's fan club shouted madly when their eyes caught the blue-eyed man. Rukawa stopped his steps before turning to face them with wide panicked-eyes, a small visible sweat on his forehead.

__

Shit… Do they know…?

"YAAAN! HE NOTICED US AT LAST! AISHITERU RUKAWA-KUN!" The fan club screamed like lunatics. Bouncing up and down as tears of happiness poured down from their pathetic eyes… Rukawa turned away quickly, avoiding the screaming girls.

__

Annoying as always… Nothing unusual so far…

After parking his bicycle, he entered the school building, heading to his class. His eyes were too busy focusing the polished floor until he didn't even notice that a certain red-haired man was just standing in front of him. Their chests soon met with a gentle bump…

"Oi, kitsune! Watch where you're going will yah?"

Noticing the familiar voice, the same voice that haunts him in his every sweet dream, the voice of a man whom he loved dearly, Rukawa's heart started beating fast. He slowly raised up his head, catching the honey brown eyes with his own aqua blue eyes.

"Ohayou kitsune!" Sakuragi Hanamichi greeted him with a delicious grin.

"Aa…Ohayou…" Was Rukawa's simple response. He really wanted to tease him so badly, making the innocent man annoyed but he didn't. He was afraid if his words might end up doing something bad to his sensitive nose.

Sakuragi raised an eyebrow when he didn't get any of his infamous 'do'aho' insult from the man but he just tend to ignore it. Before the red-haired man heads back to his class, he made Rukawa blushed furiously when he gave a drooling wink at the raven-haired man. "Ja! See yah later!" Sakuragi left Rukawa behind. 

Rukawa, without moving his spot, watched the red-haired man walked away. When Sakuragi was out of sight, Rukawa continued his steps to his class. The visible pink blush was still painting his cheeks, even his heart was still racing.

__

Damn that do'aho! Always making me fell this way… Damn him with his tempting body!

**********

The bell rang, ending the school for that day. Rukawa packed his things slowly, not bothered to rush things up. Luckily for him, no one knew about his nose being cursed. So everything was running in control, and that made Rukawa glad. Stepping out of his class, the blue-eyed boy heads towards to the basketball court for his usual practice with the other Shohoku basketball members. 

Entering the court, Rukawa's heart nearly stopped out of shock when Miyagi Ryouta suddenly jumped in front of him out of no where. The man with the green earring pulled Rukawa's arm, bringing him close for a whisper. "Is it true…?" The captain of Shohoku basketball asked. Rukawa just stared blankly at his senior. He had no clue what Miyagi's question meant. 

"About the curse…"

BAMM! Rukawa started to sweat but he remained calm, trying to hide his unpleasant feeling. The blue-eyed man gave his infamous emotionless stare at his basketball captain. "How did you know…?" He asked coldly.

__

Must be from that Sendoh…

"From Sendoh…"

__

I knew it… I'm going to kill him later…

"But don't worry, only some of the basketball members know…"

__

I'm REALLY going to kill him…

"So it's true then…? God, this is so cool! I thought that this Pinocchio curse was just a rumor, y'know! But then whoaa! Hey, hey Rukawa! Can you like tell a lie or something…? I would really like to see it grow… It will just grow longer, right? It won't explode or anything, right? Does it hurt when it grows…? What abou---"

"Does Sakuragi know?" Rukawa cut-in, ignoring the uncompleted sentence. 

"Aa? Hanamichi? I don't think so… He wasn't around when Sendoh told us but I'm sure he'll know later on from one of our basketball mates." 

__

Great…

"Hey, you're on the tensai's way!" A familiar red-haired man said roughly. Rukawa's aqua blue eyes widened when he recognized the man. Yup, Sakuragi Hanamichi or the so-called 'tensai' was standing next to the two men with arms crossed as he gave his deadly glare at the two guys whom were blocking the entrance.

"Yo, Hanamichi! We were just talking about you!" Miyagi said as he grinned at the red-haired man. Rukawa nearly slapped his face… That Miyagi really likes to expose everything, making Rukawa almost fed up with him.

"Aa…?" Sakuragi faced Rukawa, giving the raven-haired man a weird stare. "Kitsune…? You were talking about the tensai just now…?" Sakuragi asked with disbelief but Rukawa gave no response instead he stared back emotionlessly at the honey brown-eyed man.

"Nyahahaha! I knew that this day would finally come! The day that this baka kitsune admits the tensai's talent! Nyahahaha! Well, arigatou kitsune! It's nice to see that you're praising me at last!" With that, the red-haired man entered the court, walking away happily as he hummed his favorite 'Ore Wa Tensai' song.

"That baka… He's always out of the reality…" Miyagi sighed. "Forget about him, Rukawa. If he thinks that you've finally accepted him, then he's definitely an idiot…" Miyagi continued as he raised an arm up to his head, scratching it. 

Without even thinking, Rukawa automatically said, "That would never happen…" Then tada~ His nose grew one centimeter long, and yea, Miyagi was there to witness it. With eyes opened wide, Miyagi drew a step backwards with a finger pointed at Rukawa's nose. "W-WHA---! Y-YOU YOU---" 

__

Shit…

Thanx to Miyagi, everyone in the court was looking at the both of them, but instead of walking away, Rukawa just stood in his spot. As for Miyagi, he was speechless… He wanted to see the cursed nose to evolve so badly, but when he was given the chance to see it, he didn't know how to react. 

"Your nose---!"

"I know…"

"But your nose---!"

"I know…"

Miyagi finally calmed himself down. "So it's true then…" The Shohoku captain said. "So then… Is there a way to you know… There's no way to cure it back now is it…?" Miyagi starts to babble again.

Rukawa shrugged. "I have no other way but to correct the lie…" 

"Correct the lie…? You mean… Just now you…? You mean… So Hanamichi was right?! You've ACCEPTED him?!" Miyagi said loudly, drawing everyone's attention once more as they turned to face the two men again. 

__

This idiot! He's going to ruin everything!

Rukawa felt like murdering his basketball captain brutally, but he did nothing. Rukawa gave no response. When Miyagi finally realized that he was making things worst for the raven-haired man, he tried to apologize by saying, "But it's no big deal! I mean accepting him is like nothing! It's not like you have FEELINGS for that idiot or anything! Hahehahe…"

"Precisely…" Without thinking, Rukawa lied again. So you know what happens next… Yup, now it's two centimeters longer. If Rukawa was alone in the court that time, he would have whacked his head hard. It's not his fault anyway… It's like his instinct to react on the opposite… 

Miyagi's eyes widened in shock but that never stopped him from asking more annoying questions. "So you… You… You DO have feelings for him?!! You mean THAT feeling?!! As in ---"

And that was it, Rukawa quickly walked away from the short man, leaving his senior with his incomplete sentence behind as he heads towards the locker room. Entering it, the raven-haired man tried to control himself from slamming the door hard. After the door was shut tight, and after locking it, he said with full frustration, "Yea that's right! I've accepted that do'aho in my life ages ago! And hell yea, I DO have feelings for that idiot, alright?! I love Sakuragi Hanamichi!" 

A second later, his nose did grow back to normal but it grew two centimeters long again. Knowing the reason why, Rukawa added, "Fine! He's not a do'aho nor an idiot! And yea, that's right! I love him! Are you satisfied now?! I do hope you are cause I hate to see you unsatisfied when you have helped me so much by making my life more miserable!" Rukawa, the so-called cool man nearly lost his sanity as he let out his frustration at his lifeless locker. 

And POOFFF! His nose was again back to its normal size. Rukawa breathed hard. His blood temperature was on fire. He was so damn irritated with his nose but mostly, he was extremely annoyed with the Pinocchio curse. Within a few hours he was already in such disaster, and because of that he started to feel regret for not skipping school today. So much for his 'ignoring' plan… Rukawa Kaede raised an arm but before he releases a punch of anger towards his locker, his aqua blue eyes widened in horror when he heard a familiar voice…

"Kitsune…?"

**__**

Tsuzuku~


	3. Another Problem

**__**

Disclaimer – Nope, na-da, kaput, nothing… SlamDunk doesn't belong to me, but the one and only Takehiko Inoue-Sensei or also known as Dr. T. SlamDunk and all the original characters are not mine! Yesh, it's true… *sobs sobs* I'm just a simple fan and because of that, I don't own a thing…

Author's Message – I can't say that my English is perfect of what so ever… Please forgive me if there's any misspelling, grammar error… Gomen for my bad English ///;;; Please go easy on me kudasai~ Sankyuu =^.^=

The Pinocchio Curse.

Chapter 03 – Another Problem…

Rukawa Kaede was in a very bad mood. That was the reason why he was storming his fist towards his locker to let off some steam. Most cool-emotionless-don't-give-a-damn people usually were able to control their anger, and Rukawa did like to think of himself as a very cool-emotionless-don't-give-a-damn person. Then again, people like Rukawa could also be suicidal.

*********

Rukawa Kaede was stunned when he heard the familiar voice behind him. He wanted to turn and see who it was but somehow another part of him refuses to. He was afraid, too afraid that his fear might come true. Hoping that the owner of the sexy voice wasn't the one he suspected, Rukawa remained in his position.

"Kitsune…?" The voice said again but a little rougher. 

There was no mistake this time. Rukawa's fear did come true. The owner of the sexy voice was none other than Sakuragi Hanamichi, the red-haired man... (Dum dum dum dum) Rukawa started to panic as his pale face nearly turned blue, even his heartbeat began to race again. 

__

Why…?

Rukawa started to hate the Pinocchio curse more than ever, in fact, his hatred towards it had already crossed the limit line, but what could he possibly do about it anyway… Unless if the curse was a living thing, Rukawa would be able to cheerfully strangle it for getting him into such huge mess… 

"Oi, stop playing with your deaf-game for a change!" Sakuragi demanded angrily when the raven-haired man ignored his calls. 

"I'm leaving." Rukawa just turned away and heads towards the door without even giving Sakuragi a quick glance. But before he could exit himself, the honey-brown-eyed man later caught his left arm.

"You're not going any where until I'm sure of what you've just said a few minutes ago." Sakuragi protested calmly as he gently pulled the raven-haired man's arm, trying to bring him closer. 

Without turning his back to face Sakuragi, Rukawa said coldly, "Let go." 

But as usual, Sakuragi stubbornly ignored Rukawa's order as he tightens his gripped on the aqua blue-eyed man's arm, making Rukawa gritted his teeth in pain. "Make me…" He whispered, daring Rukawa. 

Rukawa nearly melted when the honey-brown-eyed man's delicious warm breath tickled his neck. Realizing that he was enjoying the moment of being alone with Sakuragi, Rukawa quickly pushed the warm-fuzzy-I-want-you feeling aside with great effort.

"Let. Go." Rukawa bit out.

"Not happening." Rukawa couldn't see, but Sakuragi's face was hard. "Look at me when I'm talking to you." 

"Let go or I'll just have to beat you to death." Came in the cold reply, ignoring Sakuragi's demand once more.

"Hardly. I'll just beat the hell out of you first before you could even lay a finger on me."

Rukawa felt like kicking himself for forgetting that there wasn't any point of threatening the stronger man. Rukawa gave no voice-response, instead he began to struggle from the man's grip, but only with little success. Annoyed, Rukawa finally turned to face the honey-brown-eyed man with full-fury planted on his face. 

"What do you want?" Rukawa coldly asked.

"Hey, wussup with the attitude?! We're best pals now, remember?! And for your information, best pals share everything with each other!" He replied angrily.

Yesh, forgot to mention earlier… Sakuragi and Rukawa are best buddies now. Rukawa was the one whom approached the red-haired man first, saying that he wanted his friendship. But never even once Rukawa showed any best friend action; he was still cold, still emotionless when around Sakuragi, and Sakuragi was beginning to feel hurt, he felt like he was being kicked to the side. So for Sakuragi, now is the right time to settle things up.

Guilt began to rise, but Rukawa continued glaring at the red-haired man, as for Sakuragi, he just held his honey-brown eyes half-open, hinting that he was being extremely serious (He looks so GOOD just by doing that… XD) 

Sakuragi took a deep breath. "Look here, you baka kitsune!" And finally released Rukawa's left arm. "All I want is for you to repeat what you've just said a few minutes ago!"

"It's none of your business." Came the not-so-surprising reply.

"If it involves with MY name then it's certainly MY business, you damn-good-for-nothing creature!" 

Rukawa's aqua-blue eyes widened, and it was pretty obvious for Sakuragi that Rukawa was panicking when his own eyes caught the glare of the aqua-blue eyes disappeared, only showing signs of unpleasantness. 

__

He… He heard me…?… 

Sure he heard you, Rukawa. He was in the locker room aswell you know, busy changing his number 10 jersey. Too busy until he heard you burst-out screaming suddenly, and the fact that you added his name while arguing with your defenseless locker. But Sakuragi wasn't sure of what he had just heard... All he heard perfectly was his own name being called out. Well, at least he wasn't there to see your nose evolved…

But Rukawa gave no answer as he turned his head away, looking down at the polished floor.

"Damn you, Rukawa!" Sakuragi half-shouted. His voice was cold, contemptuous, perfectly expressing the disgust he still harbored over the issue. "I hate standing here wasting my time too! Just tell me and I'll grant you your forever wish by leaving you alone!" 

Still no answer. The red-haired man had to consciously force himself not to go over to the raven-haired man and whack him hard over the head, much to his desire… "I heard you shouting my name! I have the rights to know whether you like it or not!" Sakuragi added. He then folded his arms, and tapped his fingers, waiting for a response.

Again, no answer.

"Aren't you going to say anything?! Or are you just going to stand here and rot?!" 

Silence. Then, just as Sakuragi was about to open his mouth to speak again, Rukawa raised his head. Sakuragi felt a cold shiver run down his spine when Rukawa glared daggers.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Wrong move Rukawa… Thanx to that answer, the Pinocchio curse taught him a lesson by making Rukawa's nose grew one centimeter longer in front of his red-haired crush. Though somehow the honey-brown eyes didn't look surprise at all; not even a little, as if they knew that the growing thingie was bound to happen. 

__

Shimatta… What have I done…?

Well, at this moment now Sakuragi should be in such great shock, saying 'Kitsune! Your ugly nose---!' After that, he will surely begin with the insult like, 'Nyahaha! That stupid nose fits your ugly-kitsune's face very well!'… At least that was what Rukawa thought… But then Sakuragi said something that Rukawa had never expected. 

"You maybe have no idea of what I'm talking about, but it looks to me that your nose does." The red-haired man said coolly as he looked deep into Rukawa's widened eyes. 

That's right, Sakuragi knew all along… But before Rukawa could ask him the 'how' question, Sakuragi continued quickly… "Smiley phoned me yesterday. Told me the whole thing about your nose." He calmly explained. 

__

Just about the nose huh…?… Thanx a lot Sendoh. I'll remember to send you a special gift when I see you… 

"Guess you have no other choice but to correct your lie now, hah?" 

"I'm leaving."

"And let the others see your huge nose? Not exactly a bright idea"

"Eveyone knows."

"Some." Sakuragi corrected.

Rukawa fell in silence. He looked deep into those honey-brown eyes for a few seconds, as if he was studying them… "I don't give a damn about the others… Just you." The words came out automatically from his lips.

"Ohh? And why is that?" 

"………"

"You don't want me to know that badly, but you don't care even a cent if the others know. Why is that? Is it because you're afraid that I might insult your cursed nose…? Gee, I don't know… You, by habit, can handle small-tiny teases." Sakuragi retorted, dripping sarcasm. "There's certainly something else... Something that you're afraid to tell me."

__

He's right… Tell him, baka! Why can't you just tell him?! Show him that you're not a coward! So what if he rejects you?! At least you can lift that heavy feeling you've been carrying off you chests! You'll feel a lot better later on! Just tell him…

Rukawa was torturing himself. He was in a dilemma… He didn't know which to choose, which to take. He wanted to tell, and let everything out, but then again, he was afraid, afraid the rejection, afraid that he might avoid him, afraid that the man he loved would never insult him again, would never throw punches and kicks; no more skin-to-skin touch, no more one-on-one matches. There were too many things he would be sacrificing if he opens his mouth.

Sakuragi Hanamichi waited patiently for Rukawa Kaede to say something, anything.

Nothing.

Rukawa stood with his back perfectly straight, as still as a statue, and just as cold, looking at the red-haired man as if all of these were nothing but a waste of his time. The man with the number 10 jersey's hands clenched into fists, as he knew that he had lost. And still Rukawa just stood there.

Finally, Sakuragi threw his hands into the air in disgust.

"I give up." Exasperated beyond words, he turned, and headed for the door. "I don't know why I even bothered. It's not my problem you're being an idiot…" 

Turning the handle, Sakuragi shot one more contemptuous barb over his shoulder before leaving. "Believe it or not Rukawa, I actually thought you've changed… I thought that you already begun to trust people, no more selfish-I-care-for-myself attitude especially to your own best friend... Looks like I was wrong." (Yup, Sakuragi got hurt just because Rukawa refuses to tell him the truth… Sensitive do'aho… Me like! XD)

And he then shut the door behind him.

It was a pity that the door didn't have a window in it. Even if there had been, Sakuragi was too angry to be bothered looking back. Otherwise, he might have seen that as soon as he was alone, Rukawa slumped hard on the hard floor, and hid his face in his pale hands with a long-shuddering sigh.

Sakuragi made huge-long steps towards the entrance of the court to get him self out fast before he starts to explode, and kill everyone in the court along with him. 

__

That baka kitsune! Why can't he just tell me?! He doesn't trust me, is that it?! Am I not worthy enough for him?! I'm not worthy enough for a private one-on-one conversation with him?! His own best friend?! Now, I'm beginning to doubt if what I had heard was even true… I'm sure… If he did have feelings for me, he wouldn't have been that damn-freaking mean!… What am I thinking…? That cold thing actually has feelings for me?! What kinda idiot am I?!

"Oi, Hanamichi! Where are you going?! Practice hasn't even started yet!" Miyagi Ryouta shouted with a basketball in his hands. But Sakuragi just waved a hand, and after that, he was no longer in the court.

"What's up with him…?" Miyagi asked himself. Then when he saw Rukawa came out from the locker room, Miyagi began to think that he understood what was happening. "Oi, Rukawa!" Miyagi raised his voice. "Did you tell him?" Miyagi grinned at Rukawa as he gave a playful wink. But when Miyagi caught Rukawa's eyes darken, he knew that something bad had happened between the two men. 

'Damn… I hope it wasn't my fault that they're like this…' 

**__**

Tsuzuku~


	4. IronWalls

**Disclaimer**** –Nope, na-da, kaput, nothing… SlamDunk doesn't belong to me, but the one and only Takehiko Inoue-Sensei or also known as Dr. T. SlamDunk, and all the original characters are not mine! T___T**

**Author's Message**** – I can't say that my English is perfect of what so ever… Please forgive me if there's any misspelling, grammar error… Please go easy on me kudasai~ Arigatou to all the reviewers! I appreciate you all~ *heart heart* Suman for the late update… I've been dead for awhile… What am I talking about…? I am dead. Anywayz enjoy, and sankyuu! =^.^=**

**_The Pinocchio Curse._**

**_Chapter 04: Iron-Walls…_**

The red-haired man, Sakuragi Hanamichi stood straight as he stared at the fancy door before him. It was built from a dark wood. Although the sky was now decorated by little shimmering stars, the wooden door was still able to swallow Sakuragi's reflection, and the scenery behind him in the varnish. There was an elegant handle set firmly into it with a very obvious lock, giving no indication whether the person who lived in the huge house was home or not. 

A few seconds later, Sakuragi's stare turned into a deadly glare. Then he took a deep breath, and gave a sharp knock on the door. There was no answer. Sakuragi frowned, and gave another knock. Still no answer…

"Oi, kitsune!"

Nothing. Sakuragi rolled his eyes, starting to feel a little irritated.

"Kitsune, I know you're in there!" 

Again, no answer. The determined expression on Sakuragi's face faded as doubt began to take over him. Maybe the raven-haired man wasn't home, or maybe had already fallen asleep… Yup, the second answer was more logical… But as he turned disappointedly to leave, a familiar sexy voice said…

"What do you want, do'ahou?"

Sakuragi stopped in his half-circle, and turned back. The door still stood there, but now it had a voice. "Kitsune?" The red-haired man tried the door-handle, which refused to give an entry. "Oi, it's me. Can I come in?"

There was a slight pause from the door, then a very curt response. "No."

Sakuragi gave another knock again. Brutally this time… "Open the door dammit!"

"No."

"No one gives a 'no' for an answer to the tensai! Now open up!"

"No."

Sakuragi gave up. Later he tried to negotiate with the common polite way, though his honey brown eyes still continued glaring deadly at the innocent door. "Look, I came all the way here in the middle of the night." He pauses for a second then glance at his watch that reads 9:38 p.m. Okay, so maybe it wasn't that late…  Who cares right…? I mean it's still dark out there… Sakuragi turned to the door again, and said… "The least you can do is say hello or something..."

"Fine… Hello. Goodbye."

Sakuragi's eyes darkened. "Baka kitsune… I want you to say it to ME, not to your door."

"I'm busy."

ZIIIIINGGGGG~ Rukawa's ignored nose made its appearance again by expanding one centimeter long. Rukawa cursed himself, almost felt like banging that nose against the wooden door. When he was about to correct the lie silently, the man on the other side of the door gave his infamous 'Nyahaha' laugh. 

"How's the nose by the way?" Sakuragi asked loudly, still laughing. 

A vein popped out. Rukawa clenched his fists. "Annoying." 

"Better watch out, kitsune! Who knows what that curse might do to the people who insult it~ But then again, seeing you suffer is a lot of fun!" I agree Hana-Kun!... Right… Anywayz, Sakuragi was still laughing, then a few seconds later he stopped, and said seriously after taking a deep breath. "Now… Open the door, and let me in or I'll just have to knock it down!"

Another pause...

"Look, kitsune… You've been scaring everyone…" Stops, then added. "… MORE than usual. You didn't come to school for three weeks now… I…" Sakuragi shrugged. There were a lot of possible reasons, but Sakuragi was sure that the fight they had in the locker-room was the real reason why the raven-haired man had skipped school. But then again, he hoped that he was mistaken… "I… I just want to see if you're okay, alright?"

"I'm fine." The door answered.

ZIIIIINGGGGG~ Another reward from the curse. Sakuragi lost it again, and gave another loud laugh when he heard Rukawa cursed his nose behind the door. He forced himself to stop once again, and then took another deep breath. "No point lying, kitsune… Now let me in!"

"NO." The word was sharp, like the lash of a whip. Then there was another pause, as if the speaker was trying to pull back… "Get lost, do'ahou."

Now Sakuragi's glare was like trying to murder the door… Then he figured out an idea which he had never tried before… First he sniffled. But there was no response. Sakuragi sniffled again, louder, and more pitifully. He blinked large mournful puppy-eyes, which probably a very useless action since there was no way it could be seen through the wooden door, but it was worth a try anywayz right…? He then added a tremble into his voice. It was easier than he expected…

"R-Rukawa… It's dark out here, and… and…" He inserted a few more tearful sniffles for good measure. "And I'm cold, and hungry, and the dark is scaring me… and now you're being mean… so now I feel like crying, and–--"

It's obvious that that was the most lame-grade E-not-like-Sakuragi-at-all trick but hey, Rukawa fell for it. Laugh everyone, laugh at the fooled man XD… Ehem, right… Finally the door opened. Rukawa stood calmly in the doorway with a hand on his hip. If he had been planning to say anything, it was lost as his eyes roved over Sakuragi's perfectly straight, and serious face… Yesh, good-looking too I might add…

"I thought you said you were crying." Rukawa said finally.

"I thought you said you were busy." The red-haired battled back as his serious honey brown eyes looked at Rukawa without even flinching. Actually, Sakuragi nearly laughed, thinking how funny it was for Rukawa to be fooled by that lame trick. He will never cry that easily, and will never cry because of the dark since the tensai himself loves it sometimes… 

_Kaede… He does care for me… _

Sakuragi formed an invisible sweet smile behind those firm straight lips. Silence then took over the situation. Rukawa didn't move from his spot. His cool blue eyes still glued on the red-haired man. Without wasting any second, Sakuragi walked forward, and said impatiently. "Now the tensai can enter, right?"

Sakuragi walked in. For a moment there he was afraid that Rukawa would shut the door in his face, but if he did then the way to solve that problem was to knock the door down… much to Sakuragi's delight… After a minute of thought, the blue-eyed man wordlessly moved aside to let Sakuragi through. Then he closed the door slowly. As Sakuragi took off his shoes, Rukawa walked away, abandoning him in the hall. Sakuragi frowned, and then followed behind. 

Almost all of the rooms in the huge house had had their lights turned off, except for the kitchen. Sakuragi had to pause for his eyes to adjust. When his eyes seemed to be getting used with the situation, he saw Rukawa's figure stood silhouetted against the wide window, looking outside. Something in that posture made Sakuragi felt even more uneasy…

So distant... The man as if wasn't like Rukawa at all. Even when the blue-eyed man was cold, and he had been most of the times… Alright, so he's cold every time, but he never ignored Sakuragi. The most possible reply he will surely receive is always the 'do'ahou' response, or the tired sigh… It was far more different this time…

Suddenly Rukawa regretted for letting the red-haired man in. He turned to face Sakuragi, and wanted to tell him to leave immediately, and to tell him that letting him in was a big-dumb idea, but his lips paralyzed when he finally noticed what the red-haired man was holding in his left hand.

A bag. A huge bag. A huge bag that people always carry along when going out… For vacation especially.

Sakuragi seemed to notice the stare. "Ohh yea, forgot to mention earlier. I'm going to stay here… for just one night perhaps… Though I brought along a lot of clothes just in ca---"

"What?" Rukawa quickly cut it.  

"I'm going to stay here." Sakuragi repeated. 

Rukawa was now half in fury, half in confusion. "And who gave you the right to do so?" He said coldly as his aqua blue eyes glared daggers at the red-haired man. 

Sakuragi placed his bag on the ground. "You're not sick for the past three weeks are you?" He said as he combed his already grown hair with his long fingers, ignoring Rukawa's question. 

"No." Was the simple response. "Now get the hell out." 

Sakuragi knew that those five words were bound to cough-out after saying he was going to stay for the night. It was such a miracle that Sakuragi's nerve didn't twitch when he was told rudely to leave the house. "You're not sick, you never were, and I don't think it's because of the curse." He said calmly, ignoring Rukawa's words again. "So why skipped school then?" 

This time, instead of answering, Rukawa dashed to the red-haired man, pushing him towards to the door. Sakuragi did the same; he pushed the raven-haired man back, not wanting to leave the house. Soon the pushes turned violent when punches, and kicks were added continuously. Minutes had past, Sakuragi was shocked to find himself lying on the floor while the blue-eyed man on top of him. Both were panting quite heavily as their eyes locked on each other. Finally, their battle had a winner for the first time, and the victor was none other than Rukawa Kaede. It proved that the raven-haired man seriously wants the other man to leave, and Sakuragi understood that completely. 

"Teme… Explain to me why I can't stay?" He finally said, unmoved, and added… "Am I not you best-friend anymore?"

Unmoved aswell, Rukawa's cold blue eyes stared at the man below him emotionlessly. "Best-friend or not… I live alone, and will always be that way." 

Surprisingly Rukawa's nose didn't grow. He was telling the truth then. 

The past two weeks, Sendoh Akira had given Rukawa a call. The spiky-headed man was worried when he was told by the new Shohoku basketball captain that Rukawa had had a serious fight with the red-haired man, and was worried when he found out that Rukawa had actually skipped school for more than a day. During that call aswell, Sendoh was dead shocked when Rukawa mentioned that he was going to forget about his red-haired crush, saying that his love for him was the dumbest mistake… Sendoh tried to fix the problem, tried to work things out, but it seemed that Rukawa had already made up his mind. Not even the great Sendoh can do anything about it now…

So that feeling towards Sakuragi Hanamichi had long erased…? 

**Tsuzuku~**


End file.
